"Heide (criminology, Univ. of South Florida) brings to her work an intensity and completeness often lacking
in discussions of this topic."
-- Choice Magazine
Sage Publications Web Site, June, 2000
Summary
Why is the number of homicides committed by youths rising in the United States? An escalating problem in this
country, Juvenile Homicide has been considered an epidemic by mental health professionals as well as practitioners
in the juvenile justice and criminal systems. In her book Young Killers, Kathleen M. Heide blends compelling
case studies with an empirical assessment of male adolescent murderers, creating a readable and interesting scholarly
text. This book explores several factors that contribute to the rise of juvenile homicide including home and family
environments, role models, the witnessing of violence, access to weapons, the availability of drugs and alcohol,
personality characteristics, and the cumulative effect of having little to lose. Although this book focuses on
male juvenile offenders, Heide also addresses the changing percentage of juvenile females arrested for homicide
and examines gender issues in juvenile homicide. She discusses the reasons girls may be more likely to kill family
members than boys are and examines the effects of the women's movement on girls and crime. Heide also addresses
psychological assessment, treatment issues, and prevention strategies aimed at reducing the incidence of juvenile
homicide.
Table of Contents
Foreword T. Palmer
I. Juvenile Homicide Encapsulated
1. The Phenomenon of Juvenile Homicide
2. Ingredients for Juvenile Murder
3. The Legal Response to Juvenile and Adolescent Homicide
4. Understanding the Juvenile Murderer
II. Clinical Portraits
5. Peter Daniels
6. Jerry Johnson
7. Calvin Thomas
8. David Collins
9. Malcolm Farrell
10. Joel Westerlund
11. Brian Clark
III. The Challenge of Juvenile Homicide
12. Treating Young Killers with E. P. Solomon
13. Ending the Cycle of Destructiveness
